Olive Branches
by zelda3469
Summary: A collection of short one shots all focused on the one and only Naru.
1. Blackmail

Really, he hadn't been interested in the case. It was simple, much too easy. Not that he was putting Mai down, but the investigation was so simple that his assistant could have conducted it on her own, and he wouldn't have been worried in the least about her.

But, Hara-san… She was the only reason he had taken the case; or rather, the information she had against him was the only reason.

It was obvious Mai had gotten rather upset after he accepted the case from Hara-san. She made her position very clear through not only her words, but her body language as well.

Naru's chest had clenched painfully when he saw the look of hurt, betrayal even, flash through her glossy eyes. He wanted to explain to her that things weren't as they appeared, but if he told her exactly what was going on and exactly who he was, Hara-san would have informed the press of his location immediately.

He had only been able to stare back at Mai, his eyes offering a weak apology, though he doubted she caught it.

"Are you even listening to me, _Oliver_?" Masako said, wrapping herself tighter around his arm.

Naru glanced up at his office building. His eyes flicked to the window, where Mai stood, staring at himself and Hara-san as they walked. He didn't have to look at her long to know she was still hurting, even from a distance. It was written all over her face.

"Yes," Naru replied, turning his head to look forward again.

"Than I'm glad we have an understanding." Lips curled up into a smile, Masako gazed up at Naru. "When can I expect that Mai will no longer be employed by you?"

Brow twitching, Naru turned his eyes on Hara-san and glared at her.

"I simply agree not to pursue a relationship with her at this point in time, nothing more." Mai depended on the job he had given her. Without it, she would struggle to simply make ends meet. She was an orphan, not that the others knew - and by God he wouldn't tell the others that, including Hara-san. It was Mai's business, and he was not at liberty to share her personal information with anyone else, except for his superiors - Martin and Madoka - back in England.

Frowning, Masako stopped before huffing irritably, "And how do you feel the press would respond if I were to inform them that a celebrity who has yet to be publicly photographed just so happened to be in Tokyo?"

Naru clenched his fingers into tight fists as he bit his tongue to keep from snapping at that moment.

After a few tense seconds of consideration, he looked directly into Hara-san's eyes and said with a biting tone, "Fine. Tell them. There is nothing you can do that would force me to fire my own assistant."

Tightening her jaw, Masako forced a smile. Honestly, what was so special about Mai? Why did Oliver like her so much? She was plain, clumsy, dirt poor, and so… dense. What in the world could Oliver have seen in her? What did Mai have that she didn't?

"Fine. She can remain your assistant then…"

When Hara-san latched herself back onto his arm, Naru silently released a long breath through his nose.

He was safe for another day, and Mai… He would at least be able to enjoy her company, even if he could not be anything more than her employer.


	2. Halloween

He was not coming out of his office, not on that day. Really, before, Naru had thought Halloween was such a stupid, pointless holiday. Well, at least what it had become.

Originally, Halloween was a pagan holiday, celebrated by the Celtics. They believed on one certain day of the year that the dead could walk along the living, and interact with those who were still alive. Of course, thinking the deceased would visit the living on that one day in particular was preposterous. The holiday soon evolved, and prior to the days of costumes and wild parties, it was a day dedicated to honoring the dead, at least to those who practiced Christianity.

And that's what Naru decided he would do that day, October thirty-first. He would simply honor his deceased brother in silence (though he did that most days anyway).

As the day ticked on slowly, Naru found himself calling for tea, as he always did in the midafternoon. But, when his newly acquired assistant failed to respond, he called again, a bit louder.

Again, there was no answer.

Irritated, Naru stood from his desk and opened the door of his office. He looked out at Mai's desk before rolling his eyes.

There she was, dressed in an orange dress with striped stockings to match. On the top of her head sat small, black pointed hat, and then next to her desk was a broom made of cheap plastic and pink ribbons.

"Mai," He called as he crossed his arms.

"Huh?! Wha-" She fell back out of her chair and landed in the floor. "Ow…" She groaned, rubbing the back of her head.

"Mai, get up," Naru ordered, "and make tea."

He watched the younger girl stare at him for a moment as her face burned a bright shade of red. It wasn't terribly difficult to tell that she was biting her tongue to keep from shouting.

"Now," Naru added, raising a brow.

"Jerk," Mai finally grumbled, pushing herself up onto her feet. "You could at least be nice about it!"

Naru sighed. "This is the third time I have asked, Mai." He glanced at her desk, curious as to what had been distracting her while he demanded tea earlier.

He then frowned. There were a number of decent sized purple bags on her desk tied with green and white strings. What in the world could those have been for?

Naru shook his head. He could have really cared less. Whatever Mai did was her own business.

After only a few short minutes Mai returned from the small kitchen with a cup of tea in hand. She offered it to Naru, who then snatched the cup from her without a word. Just as Mai opened her mouth, demanding he at least say thank you, the door opened, and Monk walked in, black cape clasped around his neck.

"Jou-chan!" He said, smiling. "Your costume is amazing! Looks like you're all ready for the party!"

Naru's brow twitched.

"We only have to wait here for the others now," Monk continued.

"If you wish to have a party, I suggest hosting it elsewhere. This is a place of business." Naru spoke, voice stern.

Mai frowned as she looked at her employer with shiny, puppy like eyes. "Aw, but Naru, it's Halloween! Please! Can we have a party here?! I mean, we'll be quiet! I promise!"

"No."

"But Naru-"

"Mai, I said no, and that's final."

Stomping her foot, Mai crossed her arms, "Why not?"

"Mai," Naru said, his voice growing slightly darker, "This is an office. It is unprofessional to host parties in an office."

"Other places do it!" She argued.

"That may be, but this is my office, and in my opinion, parties are an absolute no in the workplace."

"But-"

Cutting her of, Naru turned as he spoke again, "I said no, and that's final."

He shut his door and sighed. Naru didn't show it, but he did hate telling Mai no… He didn't want her upset or disappointed, but he couldn't handle listening to a party on a day he felt he needed to take time and remember his older brother.

A little over an hour later, while staring at his clear desk, Naru called Mai for tea again. He concluded that she heard him the first time, due to the fact he actually heard movement outside his door. Then, as he predicted, Mai came walking in, looking terribly upset.

"Please?" She asked softly, setting the teacup on his desk.

"No," Naru replied, not even looking at his assistant.

Sighing, her face falling completely, Mai nodded. She would do her best to host at her tiny apartment then...

The afternoon wore on in silence and bled into night. Lin had already left for the hotel, and Naru said he would follow after a little more time alone to himself.

It was as he exited his private office for the final time that day that Naru noticed something odd. On the handle of his door was a purple bag, tied off with green and white strings.

He remained still for a long moment before reaching out to take the holiday themed bag. Carefully, he opened it to find an assortment of small candies. There was also an envelope, and a small package.

Naru pulled both the envelope and package from the bag. He opened the smaller of the two first. It was a card with a smiling white ghost printed on the front. Almost laughing bitterly, Naru shook his head. Mai had filled the entire inside of the card with writing, writing he couldn't read. Seeing as he only ever wrote with English characters, his kanji was rather weak.

Next, he peeled away the orange wrapping of the package. His eyes widened slightly, and he shook his head. It was a book; a book written in English. But, of course it wasn't just any book.

It was a first edition, and it was also signed. Naru wondered how much Mai actually had to pay for that book, seeing as there were only a total of five signed copies.

_The Science of Parapsychology, by Oliver Davis._

For the first time that day, Naru's lips actually turned up, and he smiled. Oh, if only Mai knew.


	3. Beach

"Oh! I've always wanted to go to the beach!" Mai cried, looking at Monk enviously.

Naru had found himself staring out from the doorway of his office, amused by the display in the sitting area. So Mai wanted to go to the beach? Interesting.

Leaning back against the doorframe, he continued to watch, only acting as an observer.

"Have you ever been to the beach?" Ayako asked, raising a brow.

Mai shook her head and pouted, "No… I haven't."

Nearly raising an eyebrow, Naru let out a nearly silent sigh. How could his assistant have never been to a beach? Hell, he'd take her if she asked. Of course, he would do most anything he could for her…

His eyes wander to Hara-san, who was covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve.

He would have done so much more for Mai had _she_ not been a problem.

"Well," Masako said, glancing at the brunette, "trust me when I say you aren't missing much. It's only grainy hot sand and salty water."

And Naru wouldn't deny the fact that he actually agreed with Masako there. He never was one for the beach. But if he could make Mai smile because of something he did, well, he would learn not to mind the gritty sand and unpleasantly cold water.

Frowning, Mai crossed her arms, "But I still want to go! I want to swim in the ocean, and build sandcastles! Then, at sunset I want to walk on the beach with…" she trailed off, her eyes slowly moving towards Naru's door. They suddenly widened when she saw him standing there, lazily watching her. Then, Mai fell back over the arm of the chair she had been sitting on.

More than mildly amused, Naru flashed Mai a small smile.

"I'll take you to the beach, Mai," he stated.

Everyone else suddenly snapped their gaze towards Naru. Ayako and Monk were both totally and completely shocked, that was clear to Naru by the looks on their faces. In the meantime, Hara-san only seemed to glare at him.

"Really?!" Mai gasped, her eyes lighting up as she hopped back to her feet.

"Of course, Mai. I'll take you to the beach, to work."

Monk and Ayako suddenly burst out laughing and Hara-san's eyes lost their harsh edge. As Mai's face fell, Naru turned away to return to his office.

"You stupid workaholic!" Mai cried before sticking her tongue out and crossing her arms.

He huffed a slight laugh before shutting the door. Oh, if only he could whisk her away to the beach for an honest vacation. Perhaps he would have the chance to take her someday.


	4. Christmas

"A party sounds nice," Naru deadpanned while he stepped past Mai, Hara-san attempting to keep in step with him. He looked up to see small, shimmery white flakes fall from the sky above as he walked, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Gene had always liked the snow. The idiot always ran about outdoors, trying to catch the little dots on his tongue.

Sighing, Naru looked back at his staff while they followed him. They were all happy and merry at the prospect of an office party. Of course, he had forbidden a Halloween party, but after their last investigation he couldn't help but give in to allowing Mai to throw a small Christmas party. Just seeing her smile and laugh until the early hours of the morning would be his gift that year.

Masako cleared her throat when she caught him looking at his assistant, but he couldn't find the will to care at that moment. Oliver didn't want to miss anything… he didn't want to miss her twirling in the new fallen snow, her arms outstretched… he didn't want to regret missing anything.

Mai could have easily been hurt had she not been found in time. Or, had Kenji's hiding place been even better than up in the trees, she might have frozen to death in the chill weather.

It was easy, after just a little thought, allowing her to have the party. He wasn't going to make her take down the tree she had put up that morning, or deny her a special evening with her friends. Sure… the holiday reminded him much of his brother, and deep down it was painful in a sense. But, seeing Mai and enjoying her for a distance while she was there... he couldn't waste that. Oliver had wasted the opportunity once, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

After returning to the office Naru had found himself sitting at Mai's desk while watching the others socialize. Mai had handed out small drinks prior to engaging in any conversation, and after an hour he had received his, Naru hadn't touched it.

He held his head in his hand and slouched over the desk a bit. His right elbow supported his weight, and his other arm was lazily laying on the surface of the desk. His fingers brushed against the base of the glass ever so often while he listened in on the small party.

Though he looked far from it, Oliver was content. Although he might call them all stupid and annoying, the people he cared for most were there to share Christmas Eve with him. It was nice not to feel alone.

As the night wore on into morning, Naru had found himself dozing off, the light chatter acting as white noise. No one had noticed. It wasn't until Everyone except for Mai and Lin had left that Naru was discovered sleeping.

Mai had been the one to catch him with his eyes closed. She was cleaning up, taking dishes back into the kitchen when she saw him curled over her work area.

Setting down the glasses in her hands, she looked up. There was a mistletoe hanging above him. Mai blushed a bit, having remembered to ask Lin to put it up for her somewhere before the start of the party.

As her cheeks heated up she leaned closer to her boss. She wanted to make absolutely sure he was asleep. After she nudged his shoulder gently, and saw that he didn't wake, or appear to at least, Mai pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Naru." Mai whispered before collecting the glasses once again.

Then, when Oliver was sure Mai was in the kitchen, unable to see him, his lips turned up. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke softly, so no one else could hear, "Merry Christmas, Mai."


	5. Fraud

"Wow! We really get to work with Doctor Davis?!"

Naru kept his arms crossed over his chest while he looked out the window. His own reflection stared back at him, though instead of a frown - which was rightfully pasted on the young researcher's face - it wore a somber smile.

"Yep! We're working with the best there is, kiddo!" Monk patted Mai on the back as he continued. "Man, he's just amazing! They way I've heard he uses PK, and then that research of his, and his books… Makes me wish I could be more like him!"

Rolling his eyes, Naru continued to look past the reflected image in the glass and out onto the grounds surrounding the manor. He might have laughed dryly at the monk's reply to his assistant had he been in a better mood.

Why would anyone want to be like Oliver? He was cold, calculating, and quite miserable.

When he cast a glance out of the corner of his eye, Naru caught Lin staring at him, a hint of worry slightly present in the look he was giving him. Naru sighed and returned his gaze back to the window. Hopefully, he could expose the fraud soon enough. He knew damn well how dangerous the case they were dealing with was, and he didn't want anyone getting hurt simply because he had been told to defend his reputation.

"Too bad I had to miss that last demonstration of his last year," Ayako sighed, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"You mean the one where he slammed the hundred ten pound aluminum brick into a wall?!" Monk was getting louder by the second.

"The very one."

Turning, Naru gave everyone a cold look. "Well, seeing that everyone has enough time to socialize, I assume that headquarters has been properly set up, yes?"

Everyone went dead silent. Naru raised a brow before turning his head away.

"Well, it seems I have my answer." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Get to work, all of you. And Mai, tea."

Once the room was empty except for Naru, Lin, and Mai, Naru moved away from his place by the windowsill and took a seat in one of the nicely furnished chairs decorating the room. He reached for his journal, which had been left on the table, and then opened it.

He sighed as he sank back into his chair and began reading. While his eyes scanned over the words inked onto the pages of the small book, he only thought about the fraud that the Miami Psychic Research company had towed along with them.

If only that poor Englishman knew how awful it truly was to be Oliver Davis…

Oliver doubted the middle aged man ever suffered from constant insomnia, or feared to even touch an ordinary object of any description. He doubted that fraud knew what it was like to be raped… beaten… killed… And yet, there he was, appearing as if he were _happy_ to be the great Doctor Davis. He was too carefree, that fraud, he was too carefree and ignorant to real pain to even begin to impersonate Oliver.

"Naru?" Mai's voice jarred him from his train of thought. Oliver turned his head slowly to see his assistant standing next to him, a hot cup of tea in her hands.

After setting down his journal, he took his tea from Mai and nodded his head. As his lips touched the rim of the cup and warm liquid spilled into his mouth, all the tension in his stiff body seemed to disappear, leaving him relaxed.

While he drank his tea and rubbed his fingers over the warm, porcelain cup, he saw something that made him think twice about his ability - that perhaps seeing into the past of another didn't always have to be terrible.

Oliver always saw the same girl working in a kitchen next to a taller woman who could only be her mother. There was never an exchange of words, but there was always a sense of peace and happiness radiating from them both. When the small girl reached out to take the hem of her mother's dress, Oliver felt something he couldn't quite explain. It made his chest feel light, and it made his heart race. The feeling contrasted greatly with those he almost always encountered while using his ability. It wasn't hatred, anger, or fear. No, it was love.

"Well…?" Mai drew out, crossing her arms.

Glancing up at Mai, Oliver smirked. He then offered her the now empty cup before ordering, "Tea."

"You jerk! Can't you ever say thank you?!" She snatched the cup from his hand before storming off to brew another serving of Earl Grey.


End file.
